opening my eyes to reality
by xoxoXTY
Summary: 1 mikan, 1 natsume with triple personalities....or so they thought. full summary inside!
1. 1st up! mister gentleman

Mikan, a 16yr old clumsy, careless and trouble prone kind of brunette, suddenly meets a guy who adds a bit of spice to her boring life. But not just any guy, a triple personality kind of person who's sometimes the gentleman type, the ill-mannered type, and at times, the playboy type. But Mikan is starting to have feelings for each types, which one is the real deal? Would she find the find out the reason to this "different personality issue", or would her heart be forever torn into 3? Read and find out.

**Disclaimer **I don't own gakuen alice, but I do wish I did

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In the world deep inside, with eyes shut closed, the world pitch black, where one could not see anything but eternal darkness. Hope, love, emotions, feelings, all concealed in a small cage which is struggling to be opened by the right key. A world hollow and empty, a world of nothingness…

In the world outside, filled with laughter and sorrow. A world, where the truth is always kept hidden in the depths of peoples hearts. A world, where the true emotions are always covered by the fake masks and expressions on peoples faces. That is the real world. That is how things work…

One person in the whole world, knows this more than anyone else…..but there is also a certain someone who doesn't seem to understand this mere fact…

**At south suzaku high**

The sun is shining brightly….well, too bright. For the people outside suzaku high, it was a living hell staying under the blazing sun.

"Man! It's so hot that I'm gonna turn to toast pretty soon!" 

"Your right! And the heat is driving me berserk!"

"hey mikan, do you wanna go with us for some ice?" anna asked, looking at the 16 year old brunette who was hiding herself from the heat of the sun.

"ice? Yah, sure." She simply replied

**Later…**

"kyaaaa!!! What a relief! I thought I was going to die there!" anna said, enjoying her ice-cream

"hehe! Yup! I feel like I'm in heaven!" nonoko added

"you guys are lucky to reach heaven, I'm still down to earth.the line is soo long!" mikan complained, staring at their ice-cream, drooling

"hmph! Whose fault is it that you couldn't keep up on the first place?" sumire said, cockily

Mikan wanted to burst. But she was too tired to do so, so she ignored her.

"you guys could go ahead, I'll just catch up" she said, smiling

"oh, its oke…." But before nonoko could finish, she was cut off

"oh sure! It'll be our pleasure, right??" sumire said, pulling anna and nonoko before they even gave her an answer

"whoah!" anna and nonoko said, vice-versa

**A few minutes later..**

" here miss"

"tnx!" mikan said, giving her ice-cream a lick

"now where could they be? Their probably far by now, since sumires with them…oh well" she thought

But before she could even put 1 step forward, she felt her whole body suddenly falling. Her butt hit the floor as she found out that she had slipped on a puddle of melted ice-cream. She was about to get up when she felt something drop on her head as she made a weird face.

"just great!" she said, sarcastically, as she touched her hair which was all sticky and wet as she looked at her hand in disgust.

"first the heat, then getting separated from my friends, and now this?? What did I do to deserve this??" she said, sobbing.

Then, she got the ice-cream cone, still containing a bit of ice-cream and without looking, or thinking, threw it somewhere

She was about to get up when she noticed something in front of her. She looked at it. It was a hand. She traced the hand to the arm and then to the face. She was surprised to see a raven haired guy with auburn gentle orbs extending his hand to her.

But there was something weird about him. She traced her eyes to a cone like object with white liquid spreading all over his sleeve. She wide-eyed realizing that the cone like object with white liquid on his sleeve, was no other than the ice-cream cone containing a bit of ice-cream, she threw, not so long ago.

What she cant believe is, she threw the ice-cream and it hit a guy!! But not just any guy, someone who dint even seem to show a bit of anger or frustration towards what she did to him.

"eto……eto…kumenasai!" she said, bowing to him, hoping that he wouldn't do anything violent in public.

To her surprise, he just smiled and said,

"its okay"

"how about you? Dai shou von??" he asked, in a gentle, dreamy tone

"yes" she replied, as she took his hand and stood up

Mikan couldn't keep her eyes off him. He was kind, gentle, and absolutely gorgeous! But then she came to her senses and realized that she was staring at him, so she looked away, as a tint of red passed by her cheeks

Before any other reaction, a bunch of black, expensive looking cars stopped right in fornt of them. Suddenly, the doors wide-opened, revealing a lot of men wearing black tinted shades and pure black tuxidos. They rushed to the guy beside mikan and started crouding him.

"master! Dai shou von?"

"are you hurt?"

"who did this t you?" 

Upon hearing this, mikan sweat dropped

"master? Who did this to you? Uh, oh, I think I just dragged myself into one of those difficult situations here" she thought as she stepped back.

"whew! That was close! Well, too close! I gotta make sure I don't meddle myself with those kind of people" she said

As she continued walking, she noticed the people around her, staring. She felt uneasy as she walked a bit faster

"what the hell are they staring at me for?" she thought as she stopped and bended her knees, puffing in exhaustion. Suddenly, she felt something stop beside her. Something big, black and shiny

"oh no..i have a very bad feeling about this" she thought, as she was about to walk away, she heard a gentle, familiar voice from a while ago

"hey! Choto mate!" he said, and placed his face outside the window

Mikan sweat dropped and slowly turned around

"uh..hehe…whats up?" she asked, uncomfortably and bowed down

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't sew me or anything! I would do anything! I'm still too…" but before she could continue with her babbling, she was cut off

"hey, hey, take it easy, I'm not gonna sew you, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to have a ride home." He said, thoughtfully

"huh? Me….no, I mean….i couldn't possibly….urr.." she said, stammering

"oh, don't worry about my sleeve, I have an extra, see" he said, showing her his dry sleeve. "and besides, you cant possibly go home looking like that" he said, pointing to her head.

Mikan felt her hair, realizing that she still has ice-cram on. She was tomato red as she now knew the reason why people were staring at her

**A few minutes later**

"arigato gusaymas for the ride!" mikan said, smiling

"no problem, if you need my help, just ask" he said, handing her a card

"my name is natsume hyuuga. By the way, I haven't caught yours"

"oh, its mikan sakura" she said

"oh, okay. Well, bye mikan! I'll be looking forward t seeing you soon" he said, as the car drove away

Mikan immediately went to the bathroom and took a shower. She got her towel and dried up. She then, caught a glimpse of a little card and took it ass he layed on her bad.

"natsume hyuuga huh? I'm looking forward to meeting you again soon"

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**Author: well, that's chapter one….how was it?? I know it wouldn't be that interesting yet because its still starting…the funs yet to begin….since you have red the summary, I would want to know what you think…so please…reviews!! Tnx!!**


	2. 2nd up! mister ill mannered

Morning came. A certain brunette we know, is as usual, in her own rush hour. Waking up early for school is not her thing and she doesn't have anyone to wake her up since she stays in her own apartment so she has to depend on the alarm clock. Her parents died when she was young and she now stays with her grandpa, but sadly, their currently having a renovation in their house so she has to stay alone for a while.

She took a quick bath, had a quick breakfast and headed directly to the high school building. When she arrived, the hallways were surprisingly quiet. Mikan puffed hard as she ran and ran until she reached a certain door.

"uh,oh..i hope I'm not late again" she thought, as she opened the door to see no signs of any teacher whatsoever.

"safe!" she said, happily

"ehem! Not quiet" a familiar voice said as she slowly turned around.

"oh..hehe…ohayo narumi sensei!" she greeted, sweat dropping

"mikan, please take your seat"

"hai.." she said, restlessly

"now class, I have a very very important announcement. We are having a new student today. Please be nice to him"

"narumi-sensei said very twice"

"it must be a very important person"

"who could it be?" …

"now, please come in" he said, as the door of the classroom wide opened revealing a 16 yr old, handsome, raven haired lad.

The girls went all "kyaaaa!!!" as the boys just looked at him, having different thoughts running in their minds.

Mikan looked up to see what's all the commotion about (cuz she was still facing down, thinking about her tardiness). She wide-eyed as she saw who it was, as she felt her heart leap.

"natsume?" she whispered, as her attention was fully focused on him.

"now please introduce yourself"

"I'm natsume hyuuga" he said, plainly

"any other thing you want to say mister hyuuga?"

"I don't like long speeches so don't trouble me with them" 

"kyaa!!!!"

"hyuuga? Son of kurei hyuuga?"

"the billionaire??"

"handsome and rich! Wow!!!"

Narumi was a bit disturbed by his rude reply but he just kept it in since he was still a new student and probably the son of someone who he doesn't wanna mess around with.

"mister hyuuga, please take your seat beside ms. Sakura over there" he said, pointing to the empty seat beside mikan

Upon hearing this, mikan wide-eyed. She didn't know what to say or do. Different thoughts started entering her mind, like is this fate? Or am I really going to have my first boyfriend??" (she wish! Haha!)

"what am I gonna say? Okay mikan, play it cool. Act naturally. You could do this" she told herself, as she took one big breath.

Natsume sat down beside her with no reactions whatsoever.

Mikan turned to him and smiled.

"ohayo natsume-kun! Guess we meet again" she said.

Natsume just glared at her

"I have no idea what your babbling about, but I'm not interested" he said, cockily

"huh? What did you just say?" she asked, trying to confirm if she heard wrong

"didn't you hear me? Well, I guess not, because an idiot like you probably wouldn't understand a word people say." Was his cold, shocking reply. (well, shocking for mikan)

"WHHAAAT???!!" she exclaimed loudly, bringing all the attention to her.

"mikan-chan, could you please put all the talking aside? You could have plenty of time to talk with your new friend after class" their teacher said

"hai.."

"new friend?"

"that fast??"

"how could she?"

Her classmates said, murmuring to each other. Mikan sweat dropped and turned uneasy. But it didn't bother her for so long because her attention soon turned to natsume.

"what? How could this happen? A king hearted, gentle guy like natsume suddenly turned to this cold and ruthless like this person sitting beside me?? This has got to be a dream..yeah..it is! Mikan snap out of it!" she thought, as her thoughts of a certain raven haired lad totally occupied her head. Focused about why he was acting like a jerk, or worst, why he's acting that they never even met!

**After class**

Everyone stood up from their seats

"theirs got to be an explanation for this. I don't believe natsume's cold at all. And I'm going to prove it!" she said, as she ran towards natsume, fully determined that she could solve this whole dilemma, but her hopes went down just as she did when she tripped and fell on the floor a few inches ahead from natsume.

"itai…itai…" she said, carefully standing up

She noticed someone staring at her, so she turned to the person. Her amethyst brown orbs, met his crimson eyes. She felt that time stopped. She felt that it was the right moment…but then, she was snapped back to reality by a not so familiar voice.

"stop daydreaming, polka-dots"

"huh? Polka..what?" she said.

At first she didn't get what he ment, but eventually…

"PERVERT!!" she yelled as she turned tomato red.

**Later..**

"why that stinkin' no good pervert! How could I show my face in class again?"

_Flashback_

"_pervert! She yelled, as she turned tomato red_

_Mikan immediately stood up from the floor as she hear some murmuring sounds._

"_oh my gosh, did you just see that?"_

"_yeah, how could she?"_

"_I cant believe my hopes had just been crushed by her!"  
_

"_their putting their relationship to the next level"_

"_too soon??"_

_her classmates said, eyeing at her._

"_hey ugly!" a familiar voice said_

"_me?' mikan asked, as she turned her attention to a girl with curly, black hair_

"_yes you! Who do you think the only ugly person is here?" sumire said, as a vaib popped on mikan's forehead_

"_we are the natsume-kun fan club and it is our jobs to pluck away the unneeded and hideous thorn sticking out from our wonderful rose" she said, as a group of girls from her back glared at mikan, agreeing in what miss permy is saying._

"_and who would that be?' mikan asked_

"_you duh! Youre the stinkin thorn and natsume-kun is the charming rose…so don't you dare get anymore closer to him or you'll be sorry" she threatened._

_End of flashback_

"why that permy! Who would even want to get closer to that pervert!?"

"huh?" she stopped, as her eyes caught sight of a raven haired lad.

She gave an angry look

"I'm gonna settle this, once and for all"

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**Author: that's chap 2…how was it? Please tell me. Feel free to give me suggestions of comments…..please! I badly need your reviews!! Tnx!**


	3. 3rd up! mister playboy

"I'm going to settle this, ones and for all!" she said, walking towards the raven haired lad which was facing his back to her.

she grabbed him by the shoulder and started yelling

"hey! I still have a score to settle with you, pervert!" she said, angrily

natsume just looked at her with a confused expression.

"umm...i don't believe we've met. well, it doesn't matter" he said, pushing her gently towards the wall and locked her with his arms. "you're kinda cute. how's about you and me go on a date?" he asked, in a toxic tone.

"dd..da..ate??" she murmured, and was dumbfounded as his amethyst orbs, met his tantalizing eyes.

"yes, date" he replied, as he held her chin gently, and emphasized the word date.

mikan's heart started beating like crazy, as a tint if red passed by her rosy, smooth cheeks.

"i...i..." she was too surprised to answer, but then she came to her senses. "wait!" she said, pushing him away.

"what do yu think your doing? you pervert!"

"playing hard to get eh?? I like that" he said, in a toxicated tone. (dnt even know if theirs such a word..haha)

"whhaat..? you've got to be kidding me...okay! I just had about enough of this for one day!" she said, walking away. but natsume grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"wait, I haven't caught your name yet"

"huh? you what? but didn't we just meet yesterday, and at class?"

"huh? what are you talking about? I've never met you yet...till now that is. and I don't believe we stay in the same school. I study in..." then he paused for a while "urr...well, its not important"

"what is he talking about? this has got to be a prank. but his eyes tell me that not a single word he said, was a lie.

"urr...its mikan sakura" she answered

"oh, mine is natsume hyuuga...see you soon, mikan-chan!" he said, as he slowly waved away.

**later..**

mikan was in her apartment, lying on her cozy bed. she was very deep in thoughts. thinking about her encounter with a certain raven haired lad with three different personalities.

"but its totally impossible. it could just be a prank but, when I look into their eyes, it seems like I'm talking to one person, with whole different personalities.

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**author: that's chap 3...sorry if its short but I'm working on the rest so bear with me...and please don't forget to review! tnx !**


	4. planning

**The next day**

"ohayo mina!" the brunette said, as she walked towards a certain seat.

"Ohayo!" they replied.

She stopped as she looked at the raven haired girl, who was expressionless as ever, reading a book.

"ohayo hotaru!" she said to her best friend, giving her a sweet smile.

Hotaru lowered her book and just looked at her for a moment, then continued what she was doing. (it was a way to express her good morning too, and your too noisy)

Although they don't look like it, mikan and hotaru are best friends since childhood. In fact, of all the schools around, she chose to study in this one, since hotaru is here. According to her, she couldn't practically live without her best friend.

"ohayo ruka-pyon!" she greeted her blonde friend.

**Mikans POV**

Apparently, i just found out that ruka and natsume are cousins. And close ones, to be precise. Maybe that's also the reason why, of all schools, natsume picked to stay in this one. (sorry I dint put It in the other chapters. I just needed ruka in)

**End of POV**

Mikan walked towards her seat and sat down. She glanced at the raven haired lad beside her who was reading his manga. She gave a serious and confused face for a second, but then immediately changed it to a slight grin.

"ohayo natsume!" she said, cheerfully.

Natsume lowered his manga and looked at her for a while, and continued reading.

A vein popped on her forehead, as she tightened her knuckles.

"oh, kume….i don't think you heard me. Let me say it louder…..OhAyO nAtSuMe!!!" she exclaimed, as all attention turned to her.

Ignored….

She stood up as the vein turned bigger. She took a deep breath.

"Oh well, third times the charm. O-H-A-Y-O NATSUME!!!" she yelled, as she breathed hard.

This time, natsume lowered his manga and looked at her.

"shut up polka-dots. Your TOO loud" he said, emphasizing the word too loud.

_BOOMMM!!!_

Mikan exploded, as all the anger she kept inside just broke free. (not literally)

"Why YoU!!!!!" but before mikan could give natsume a piece of her mind, the classroom door wide opened, revealing their blonde, cheerful teacher.

"now class, please settle down. I have very exciting news for all of you!"

The class settled down on their seats as Mr. narumi stepped forward.

"tomorrow, were going to start a 3 day fieldtrip to adventure zone!!!" their teacher said.

"adventure what?"

"whats that?"

"never heard of it"

"sounds kiddy"

"this sucks"

Before anymore harsh reactions, their teacher interrupted.

"no, no, no. this time is different. Adventure zoneis sort of a large land mark containing large mountains, rivers, trees…etc, where you could explore and possibly get lost! Isn't It exiting?!"

The class sweatdropped

"haha! Just kidding! Nut you could possibly get lost there. So that is why you would need partners. Just picture this trip as a free vacation during school time, where you could learn to be dependent and enjoy as well. Except for the fact that you each have to write a 3 page report afterwards, I see no reason why we shouldn't go."

"what?"

"3 page?"

"why?"

Ignoring the class' reactions, their teacher continued.

"tomorrow morning at exactly 7:30, we will meet at the front ground of the school. Now, before I forget, please pick your partners"

As soon as he said that, the student rushed out from their seats to pick their partners. The classroom seemed as if it was filled with rampaging bulls. Mikan was late to stand up.

"hotaru….hotaru…where are you??" she said, as she felt suddenly pushed by someone and lost her balance. She shut her eyes to prepare for the pain of falling, but to her surprise, it was the other way around.

"huh? I'm not hurt" she said, slowly opening her eyes to see a pair of crimson orbs looking right at her. She wide-eyed, but before she could get up, Mr. narumi interrupted.

"oh, natsume, mikan, I'm so glad that you two are finally getting along and seeing the air of your ways. Good for you!" he complimented.

Mikan immediately stood up.

"what? No! a mistake! He's not my partner! Hotaru is!" she said, panicking

"hotaru?" narumi said, scanning the class.

"oh, I see hotaru already has partner" he said, looking at hotaru and ruka together.

Hotaru was the same and emotionless as ever. But ruka doesn't seem like himself. He seems quiet uncomfortable and nervous…?

"kume natsume….i have reasons for this" ruka said, sweat dropping

Natsume just nodded at his cousin.

"mr. hyuuga doesn't seem to have a problem wit this" narumi said, chuckling

"Huh?" mikan thought, as she noticed something around her waist.

"What??!" she exclaimed, just noticing natsume's arm around her waist.

"when did you?"

"its settled. Mikan and natsume are partners for tommorows activity. Well bye now! Class dismissed"

Mikan jaw dropped.

"this couldn't be happening to me"

"lighten up polka-dots. At least you get to spend your time with yours truly" natsume said, smirking, as he went away.

"he likes teasing her does he?"

"oh, yeah"

"I have a fealing that this is going to be one helluva trip"

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"grr! He's so…so…" but before she could continue, a sudden thought came to her.

_Flashback_

"_Lighten up polka-dots. At least you get to spend your time with yours truly"_

_end of flashback_

"since when does that pervert natsume say something like : lighten up, and you get to spend your time with yours truly?"

"hmm…….hmmmm……….oh well" she said, walking away

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**Author: thank you for reading this chapter. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think…I'm getting to the interesting part already so please do keep on reading **


	5. the big day!

**The next day…**

At exactly 7:30, the front ground of suzaku high was filled with high school students. Their teacher approached them wit a grin.

"ah, I see your in time. You all must be very excited for the trip! Now, is everybody here??" narumi asked, as he scanned the whole class.

"since theirs no respond, I would take that as a yes……but to stay on the bright side, stay with your partners as you enter the bus"

"hai!" everyone said, as they started forming a lines towards the bus.

**A few minutes later..**

"okay, is everyone in the bus now?" narumi asked, scanning the front ground for any other students as his eyes caught sight of a raven haired lad crossing his arms.

"why natsume. why aren't you in the bus yet? And where is your partner?" he asked as natsume glared at him.

They suddenly heard footsteps approaching as their attention turned to a 16 year old brunette rushing towards them with a large backpack on her back.

"_puff….puff……_choto…mate!" she said..

"oh mikan! Your just in time" narumi said, waving his hand to her.

"just in time huh?" natsume thought

"_puff….puff…_I'm here…..safe! …."mikan said, as she bended her knees a bit and leaned her hands on it while breathing really hard.

"natsume…..kumena…..i'm sort of late….i hope your not mad" she said

"tsk!" was his reply as he glared at her.

She traced him to the bus as she gave a big sigh.

"we better get moving now mikan, we don't want to get stuck in traffic now do we?" narumi asked.

"no.." she said, as she stepped in the bus.

As she entered, she scanned the bus for an empty seat. But fortunately for her, their was only one left. She laid her bag on the top side of the bus. (don't know what its I sit here??" mikan asked.

Natsume changed his glance from the side window of the bus to mikan. He looked at her still wearing the same expression as before. But before any other reactions, mikan felt something slippery under her feet and the next thing she knew, she lost her balance and fell on something…..or rather….someone.

"itai…itai…" she said, as she opened her eyes. Her amethyst orbs met his crimson orbs. Mikan held her breath to get ready for some insults as usual. But instead, an unexpected question was asked by a certain someone.

"dai shou von?" natsume asked, as he moved closer to her. Their faces were a few inches apart. (mikan fell front ways so she was lying on his thighs)

"huh….i'm fine….and what did you just say?" she asked, as she gazed at the different expression he had on his eyes. It was a familiar expression. Something that she had already seen once before. Her heart started beating rather fast. She felt breathless until…

"great…because I feel like a Big ,Heavy rock just landed on my thighs….and it never seems to budge off" he said, coldly as the expression on his eyes returned to the way it was.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY???" mikan exclaimed.

_Click…click!!_

"this should cover it" a familiar, emorionless voice said.

Mikan immediately stood up.

"hotaru??" she asked, as she noticed something on the floor and bended her knees to take a closer look. She slid her finger on the floor and examined it.

"this is oil. What could oil (for cooking) be doing on the bus floor?" she asked as she noticed an empty bottle under hotaru's seat. She picked it up and looked at hotaru.

"oops. It must have accidentally fallen off when ruka here moved. Right ruka?" she said, turning her head to her seatmate, still, with her emotionless tone.

"huh? But I dint….." ruka paused, as hotaru started revealing something from her backpack.

"oh…uh…uh…oh yeah! i….iit was me….kume mikan" he said, stammering as hotaru slipped back the object in her bag. Ruka sweat dropped

"oh its okay ruka-pyon. You didn't do it intentionally anyway." she said.

"whats up with him?" natsume thought, looking at his cousin

"the bus is about to go, mikan, please take your seat beside natsume over there" narumi said.

"uh…hai!" she asid, sitting down without giving natsume a single glance.

The bus started moving. A few minutes later, mikan's neck turned stiff. She felt that she really needed to moving it a bit. Forgetting the reason why she didn't even glance to her left, she moved her head as she came face to face with the raven haired lad. Her heart skipped as she realized that he was staring at her. She quickly faced away.

"shooh! What was that about? I wonder if he was staring at me the whole time……..neh!" she thought.

**A few hours later…**

It was already 10:00 a.m. most of the students are asleep, including the teacher. (lol)

But hotaru was still wide awake as she felt something land on her shouder. She immediately pushed t away as a pair of sapphire orbs were revealed.

"sleep on my shoulder again and you're a dead man" she said

"kume" ruka said, sweat dropping

**On the other side**

A certain raven haired lad could not even shut an eye as he continued staring outside the window during the whole trip. He was too deep in thoughts. Natsume is a secretive, mysterious young lad. Who would even know how many secrets lies beneath the black cat's heart.

"damn it. Damn this trip. Damn it all" he thought, as he felt something land on his shoulder.

He was shot back to reality as he turned his head to his right shoulder and came face to face with the biggest idiot he had ever met. Except their was something different about her, something he thought would be the last thing shed ever do…being quiet.

His mind told him to shove her away, but his crimson orbs not once took a single blink, as he was hypnotized by her sleeping face. Just looking at her, made his dark thoughts slowly fade away, as a sudden light took over. His heart started beating fast. He felt something inside of him just waiting for the right moment to come out. This unexplained feeling made his heart lighten up like a gentle feather, floating freely inside of him.

He noticed her bangs covering the view of her eyes. As he was about to gently shove it away, he noticed someone from behind her, staring.

He looked forward and saw hotaru, eagerly awaiting his next move as she slowly took her digital camera.

Natsume, out of embarrassment (??), faced away, quickly but gently as the bus stopped causing the students to rise from their sleep.

"rise and shine dear students! We've arrived" their teacher said.

"yawn"

"huh? What happened?"

"were their already?"

Were the reactions of the students.

"huh? Yawn…" the brunette said, as she opened her eyes and stretched her arms, not realizing where she had woke up from. (which was on natsume's shoulder, of course)

The students went of the bus to see a wonderful view of mountains and trees.

"ahh….its so peaceful here. Good thing we all took a long comfortable nap" mikan said

"comfortable eh? Speak for yourself" natsume said, massaging his shoulder and arm.

"whats his problem?"

"who knows" hotaru said.

"come on mikan, hotaru. Or you'll both get left behind" nonoko said.

"okay"

**Later…**

"okay, lets see now…this is how to make a tent. This goes here….urr…no here….hmm…hotaru could you…what?!" mikan said, jaw dropping

"hotaru, how did you make that so fast?"

"I just did." Was her reply

The others were also preparing their tents. And so was ruka and natsume as their fangirls just stood at the side watching their every move.

"I could imagine it now! Me, alone with ruka and natsume. getting stranded somewhere. And then, they suddenly fall for me just like that!" sumire said, daydreaming.

"kyaa!!!!" 

"I wish that will happen to me!"

"it would be so romantic!!"

"dream on girls! Their mine!" sumire said, cockily

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"hey mikan, could you please take a picture of us on top of that cliff?" anna asked

"please mikan…" nonoko added

"sure. I'm not busy anyway" she answered

"cliff? Did she just say cliff??" ruka said, looking at natsume who trailed the girls away.

"I've got to see this" hotaru said, taking her camera

"where could they be going?" yuu thought, as he had a bad feeling about this.

Hotaru, ruka and natsume were gathered at the corner as mikan started to take a picture.

"hmm…I wonder what their gathered there for? Theirs nothing interesting about seeing me take a picture…oh well" mikan thought

"okay, stay there..thats it…" mikan said, taking steps backward.

"wait. I don't think we should be doing this. it might be dangerous" anna said

"yeah, your right. And to think we took the trouble to get way up here" nonoko added

"no. its fine guys. I'm not letting our efforts go to waste. Besides, its only one picture" mikan said

"no hold still…one…two…." mikan said, ready to shoot as yuu arrived with narumi.

"wait mikan. Be careful. You might…."narumi said, but was too late, for mikan already took the last step backwards and lost her balance because of a rock behing her foot.

"gasp" mikan said, as she wide-eyed, falling towards the ciff. (in slow motion)

Everyone was too shocked to move. Mikan closed her eyes as a tear fell from it. Footsteps were heared, rushing closer….and closer….

**Author: how was this chapter? Reviews please**


	6. stuck with you

Time seemed to have stopped, as the young brunette felt an eternity of falling.

"what should I do? What could I do? Will I die this way? Is this the end for me??" she thought as more questions came to her mind, non-stop.

At that time, she felt that it was all over. She had almost lost every bit of hope she had, until she suddenly felt being pulled up and pulled into someone's warm embrace.

"Huh? Am I dead already?" she thought, slowly opening her eyes.

He looked at her with his rare, gentle, crimson orbs. Then he held her tight, as if telling her (by his actions) that everything would be okay since I am here. (something like tamaki and haruhi in ouran high school)

"what?...nat…sume?" she thought, as they both fell in the river below the cliff.

They swam to shore and reached the shallow part of the water.

"puff…puff…"

"puff….puff…"

Both of them breathed really hard then glanced at each other.

A tint of red passed by mikan's cheeks as her head beat started moving rapidly.

Natsume stood up, soaked in water all over, as he looked up from where they fell.

"natsume, mikan, dai shou von????" their teacher shouted on the tip of his tongue.

Natsume didn't reply. He just turned around and squeezed the water off his shirt.

Mikan stood up.

"we're fine narumi sensei" she shouted back

"oh, yokata" narumi said in relief.

"oh no! this is all my fault. If something bad happened to them, I do not know what to do" anna said

"its not your fault anna, accidents happen" nonoko said, trying to cheer her friend up.

Ruka looked at hotaru.

"I wonder what she's thinking right now" he thought.

Hotaru caught sight of ruka's stare and looked at him. She gave him a death glare and walked away.

Ruka sweat dropped and shivered in the thought.

"oh no! natsume-kun! Dai shou von???" a loud and irritating voice said as she stepped forward to get a better view together with some girls.

Then sumire spotted mikan beside natsume and for some reason, her head started to burn up.

"what is that idiot doing beside my natsume???" she yelled.

"natsume just happened to save mikan from falling" yuu explained

"mikan, natsume. please stay calm. We'll get you out of there right away" narumi said.

"but narumi-sensei. According to my calculations on this map you gave each of us (sorry I didn't put this in chap 5) , it will have to take about 2 days to reach them." Yuu said.

"what???!!! 2 days?? You got to be joking! My natsume getting stuck with that idiot for 2 days?? Its almost like the whole trip!" she yelled.

"oh no!" the fan girls said, sobbing.

"don't worry. We'll get you two out of there as soon as possible. Does anyone of you have a map?" he asked.

Mikan looked at natsume's pocket which was revealing a map

"hai! We do!" she shouted.

"tsk!"

"okay, we'll meet somewhere in the north. Please go there and promise me you'll stick together" he said.

Mikan looked at their worried teacher and felt sorry for him. So she gave a big smile and tried to be cheerful.

"hai! We promise!" she said.

Then narumi smiled.

"arigato, mikan, natsume" he said.

"hear that natsume? we need to…" she said, as she turned her head to see no natsume around her.

"hey! Choto natsume! narumi sensei told us to stick together" she said, keeping up.

"wonder whats his problem" she thought.

**hours later**

Mikan and natsume continued walkng through the thick forest non-stop. Natsume just kept moving forward as mikan continued following.

"I'm exhausted. Where the heck is he heading to anyways? I thought north was the other way….or not…"

------------------------------------------------

The others were on their way to the north and fetch the two. Yuu looked at the sky.

" judging from the sky, the weather today wont be pretty" he said.

"what?? But the rain would just slow us down!!!" sumire yelled.

"I wonder if they'll be okay" anna said.

"oh they'll be fine. Besides, mikan has natsume with her right now. What could go wrong?" nonoko said.

"what???? What…. could go wrong?...gulp…" sumire repeated, as they all gave funny expressions on their faces.

----------------------------------------------------

"a…a….achooooh!!!"

"what was that about?" she thought.

"anyway, I'm going to ask him right now just where we are heading to" she thought felling very determined.

"nat…." she said, but was cut off by a sudden thought of being pulled into someones warm embrace. (the thought of when natsume saved her from falling)

A tint of red passed her sheeks as she felt her heart racing through every thught. She felt her chest.

"doshte? Why did you risk your life to save mine?" she thought, as she continued walking, with her head facing down.

Then suddenly, "_wack!"_

**Author: that's chapter 6, the next chapter would be better…I promise…..so please be patient and don't forget to send reviews….they would be much appreciated. Thankyou!**


	7. day 1

"_smack!"_

A large leaf smacked her face, and before she knew it, she lost her balance and fell.

"itai….itai…." she said, shooting back to reality. She raised her head and saw the raven haired lad staring at her with his rather attractive crimson orbs. She immediately stood up and took a deep breath.

"what did you do that for???" she said, furiously.

"if you weren't spacing out back there, you would have seen that coming, strawberries" he said plainly. (natsume was walking ahead of mikan as mikan followed his trail, he just happened to shove away a large leaf to make a way, but apparently, he only made way for himself and mikan was spacing out, so she got hit)

"strawbe……WHAAAT???" she said, as her face turned tomato red.

"PERVERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she shouted, as the sound of thunder suddenly reached their ears and rain started pouring through their faces.

"just my luck. Hey pervert, we better…" she said, but natsume was once again, no where around. "Now where did he run off to this time?" then she took a deep breath. "HEY NATSUME!! WHERE ARE…"

"I'm right here" he said. As mikan went to him.

"sheesh polka-dots. It felt like something louder than thunder just hit rock bottom. Shut up and follow me" he said, cockily

Mikan decided to let that insult pass, since its not exactly the right time to make a fuss about it. She followed natsume to a cave.

"what is a cave doing here? And how did you even know there is one here??"

"large mountains and thick forests are bound to have large holes in them" was his reply "and also…" he said, tossing her something. "stay here. I'll be right back"

"But where are you…"

Before she had a chance to finish, he walked away into the cold, dark rain.

"sheesh. I better get use to his bad nature and stupid insults since I'm going to be stuck with him for a while. Sigh…..i guess the good mannered natsume I first met, would just be a distant memory" she said, as she remembered holding something on her hands.

"hmm…whats this?" she said, opening he scroll.

"a map?...oh….so that's how he found this place…..silly me"

**A few minutes later…**

Mikan held herself tight.

"its freezing in here. I wonder what's taking him so long……" then she wide-eyed. "what? Could it be?? Does he think I'm a nuisance and plans to leave me here all alone???...no, he couldn't…..he's not that kind of guy……..or is he?...aahhhhh!!!!!!!!! okay mikan, don't panic…if he's not yet back in 5 minutes….then…..then……LEAVE HIM OUT THERE OT DIE FOR ALL I CARE!!!!!" she told herself, so that it would save her the trouble of getting lost. "oh no, I think I'm going nuts"

Then she heard footsteps slowly approaching, and the sound of some things thrown on the floor. She turned her head to see natsume soaking very wet with some logs on the floor.

He bended down and started rubbing the wood together, hoping to make fire.

Luck was on their side, as a tiny spark of light started to emerge from the woods.

A few minutes later, he was able to create a bonfire.

Then he stood up and took off his shirt as he squeezed off the water that was in it. Mikan just stared at him, dumbfounded. Her eyes widened, as a tint of red passed her cheeks.

The lad caught sight of her staring, as he turned his face to her, revealing his crimson, tantalizing orbs, a different sight which she had seen once before.

Mikan immediately looked away.

"you're not just going to stand there, are you"

"huh?"

"don't tell me that I have to act like your mom and baby-sit you"

"what? I don't know what your talking about"

Natsume gave a small sigh

"take off your clothes" he said, without any sign of hesitation, whatsoever

"Whaaat???...i mean, No…..why….should..i?" she asked, stammering.

"because you'll catch a cold and I'm going to be blamed for it since I'm the only one around" he said

"no…I'm not going to catch a cold. I'm perfectly healthy. And besides…besides……How could I possibly do that if theirs a pervert like you sticking around?!" she yelled, as she immediately covered her mouth with her hands.

Upon hearing this, natsume gave a toxic grin. Without a word, he walked towards mikan with shadows concealing his eyes. Then he gently pushed her on the wall, locking her, with his arms.

"nat…su..me?"

Natsume moved his mouth a few inches from her ears and whispered something.

"if you wont take it off…….then **I will**"

Mikan wide-eyed

her heart started beating like crazy as Different and disturbing thoughts started pouring In her head.


	8. a mere realization

Natsume unlocked her from his cage and stood up straight, putting his hands in his pocket.

"So what would it be, miss?"

She was too dumbfounded to reply. But then she managed to get to her senses.

"NO! I mean…I'll do it" she answered, as she faced back.

She was about to take her shirt off, but stopped, and looked back at the natsume who was looking at her.

"Well???"

Natsume rolled his eyes, and faced back.

00ooo00oo00o

**Hours later**

The bonfire was still burning warm, as they're clothes were slowly getting dry.

Their backs were facing each other. (and FYI, they still had their undershirts on)

Total silence inhabited the area.

They were just sitting down, and doing nothing in particular, aside from sliding their fingers on the floor, or for mikan, playing with her hair.

But behind those actions, lie many questions and facts that had been bothering her since the beginning, some things that she had hesitated to ask him. In fact, there are many things she doesn't know about him, natsume has always been so mysterious, and hard to predict.

But she couldn't take it anymore. Curiosity has almost fully taken over her. She felt the urge to ask him at least 1 thing.

The brunette broke the silence with a rather loud voice.

"neh, natsume"

"what?"

"uh…..eto….eto…"

"what?"

"well…"

"if you want to say something, just say it"

"………why did you jump in the cliff even knowing that your life is at stake?" she finally asked.

"don't get me wrong….i didn't do it for you…"

Upon hearing this, mikan felt a bit of disappointment and lowered her head.

Natsume's bangs concealed his eyes.

A short silence once again surrounded them.

Different thoughts and emotions slowly occurred to them, one by one.

Until,

"I did it because I wanted to" he said, breaking the silence

Mikan's frowning face soon turned a bit relieved

At first she felt her heart buried by a heavy weight. But now, she felt a bit lightened. (not the it felt wonderful, it just made her feel better)

The rain slowly stopped pouring from the sky, and their clothes were already half dry. As they placed them on, they laid down on the cold, rocky ground, and slowly went shut eyed.

It was already midnight. The moon rose up to its fullest. It served as the light that shared its shine to everything around it. It gave light to the trees, it smiled to the living creatures in the area, and it shone to a certain cave.

A certain cave, which 2 people shared and which served as their temporary shelter until the sun rises up once again…

One was sound asleep. While the other continued turning and moving around to find his suitable spot. Not being able to find his place, his eyes wide-opened. Still lying down, he gazed at the night sky which was filled with thousands of beautiful diamonds that shone with glamour to the eyes.

**Natsume's POV**

"Great. First I'm stuck with an idiot, second, mother nature has to get all upset. And third, unlike someone here, I couldn't even get go shut eyes." I thought, glancing at the brunette, peacefully sleeping beside me.

"Come to think of it, this isn't the first time I've seen this sleeping face" I said, chuckling a bit, as my attention turned back to the sky.

"I would give up almost everything if I get time to stop like this. besides, what do I have that's so important to me in the first place? I'd rather be in a world where I am free to roam peacefully. A world without all the complications and bugs around to tell me what to do" I thought again, but was cut off from my little fantasy as I felt something warm land on my hand.

I looked at it, surprised to see a not so familiar, still sleeping face. She was asleep, yet wearing a warm smile on her face.

I cant believe why this even occurred to me, but every time I see her warm, gentle smile, my problems suddenly starts evaporating from my mind and heart.

Then I held her hand, and gave a faint smile.

"your right. Time is still moving forward, and if it had to stop now, what fun would it be. Is that right…….mikan." I said, as I slowly opened my eyes and fell asleep.

**Author: sorry for the late update. So how was it? Reviews pls..**


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